


Just Leave That To Me

by spaghettideviant



Series: Vanished [4]
Category: Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Book 1: Red Queen, Book 2: Glass Sword, Book 3: King's Cage, Book 4: War Storm, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 06:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15309423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaghettideviant/pseuds/spaghettideviant
Summary: Maven and Mare make plans to relocate again, and Maven finally finished the letter to Cal.Post War Storm, Alternate ending.





	Just Leave That To Me

**Author's Note:**

> wow look another one  
> also catch me calling maven "mave" till i die
> 
>  
> 
> POV Mare

Smoke fills my lungs as fire spreads to the grass beneath my feet, forcing me to jump a few feet backward. I stumble, falling into the dirt and scraping my hands against the rough ground. I quickly force myself to get back up, turning and moving as far from the flame as I can. The fire continues to follow me through the woods as I sprint away from it, my breath heavy as I struggle to find clean air through the smoke. My feet burn, luckily from strain and not from catching fire. My panting continues as I slow, looking to the sky to see the storm brewing. 

_ Good. _

I turn on the balls of my feet, facing the rapidly approaching flame. With all of my strength, I call to the storm, using my ability to rip a bolt of purple lightning from the sky, disappearing somewhere in the woods behind the fire. The flames stop spreading immediately, and I laugh, knowing I hit my target.

I skip through the flames, careful to make sure my clothes don’t ignite.

My laughter turns into a wicked cackle as I see Maven in the middle of a blackened clearing, lying on his back and twitching consistently. The remains of his clothes are charred, hanging off of his body and exposing most of his pale skin. His hair sticks out in all directions, and he blinks rapidly with each twitch.

He laughs as I close the distance between us. “Your...your-” He struggles to speak in between siezes, and I smile down at him, proud of my work. “Your… aim…”

“Is amazing, I know.” I flip a stray lock of hair over my shoulder, admiring the extremely faded purple. “Are you okay?”

From his twitching, I know that he isn’t, but he smiles anyway, silver blood coating his teeth. 

Usually, our training doesn’t end like this. Mostly, we just set up trees to shoot at or throw knives at the ground or see how long we can hold up a barrier of fire or lightning. Very rarely do we end up fighting each other like this.

It reminds me a little of our fight in the room made out of Silent Stone.

Quickly, I shake my head, dismissing the thought. There was a lot more anger there. This is just for fun. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” I say, grabbing Maven’s hand and trying to help him stand. He can’t do much through the seizing, so I have to drag him away from the clearing and back to our makeshift campsite.

With great effort, I manage to lean him against the tree he usually sits under, then make a quick trip into our small hut for the medical kit we found with the last group of raiders, and a small slip of paper. I return, sitting next to him and ripping the rest of his shirt off of him. I make sure to put it in the kit, knowing we can use it for bandages later.

He smiles at me as I work, cleaning blood and soot from his face and chest. Eventually, he stops twitching, and lays his head on my shoulder as I work on the gash along his lower abdomen. “Thank you.” He manages, and I can hear the smile in his voice.

I shrug. “Don’t thank me. I’m the one who fried you.”

Maven laughs, then winces, immediately regretting it. “You’re good at this.”

_ At taking care of him, he means. _

My eyes flash to his, my brow furrowed. He doesn’t say anything else.

I finish bandaging the open wound, and sit back on my heels to look up at him. He smiles again, and I reach next to the kit to grab the paper. I set it in his lap, then stand to go retrieve a pencil as he looks down at it. Only one word is written on the paper, in his swirling cursive:

_ Cal. _

He frowns when I return, holding the pencil out to him. He doesn’t move. “No.” I fold my arms in anger, and he sighs. “I just… I don’t know why you want  _ me _ to write this. Cal hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you.” Maven purses his lips, and I laugh. “Well, he doesn’t hate you as much as you think he does.”

He sighs again, running a hand through his crazy hair. “What do you even want me to say to him?”

Shrugging, I sit beside him, throwing my legs across his. “The truth.”

Maven snatches the pencil from me, grabbing the paper to mock me, pretending to write on it. “Dear Cal, I stole your lover. Please forgive me.”

I shove him, sticking my tongue out. “That’s not what I mean! Just… write what you  _ feel _ , Mave.” 

He smiles at the nickname. I started using it after we moved camps for the third time. I think it suits him, and it’s the only nickname he doesn’t despise. Probably because I’m the only person who calls him that.

It’s not enough, and I plant a quick kiss on his cheek, using the most innocent charm I can muster. “Please?”

He laughs, placing his hand under my chin and pulling me towards him to kiss me properly. His smile is soft against my lips. “Okay.” He whispers, running his thumb along my jawline. “But you have to make dinner.”

I pull away from him, my eyes angry, but he just laughs. “If I’m writing this, you cook the potatoes!”

I fold my arms. “I can’t make a-” 

“Figure it out.” He boops my nose with the pencil, then grabs the medical kit to use as something to press on. I huff, standing and wiping dirt from my knees before going to find some dry wood, trying to remember the last time I managed to start a fire without Maven’s help.

  
  
  
  
  
  


The zipper of the small bag is cold against my flesh as I shove blankets into it, trying my best to clean up our small home. With the amount of raiders we have faced recently, it wasn’t hard to realize that this place isn’t safe enough for us. After dinner, we decided to leave first thing this morning. When I woke, I decided I would let Maven sleep in a little.

I look over at him, smiling at the sound of his soft snores. He’s always cute when he sleeps, but he seems especially so now, tangled in the thick blankets and the smallest bit of saliva in the corner of his mouth. I’m careful to leave clothes out for him as I zip the bag completely, then make my way out of the hut to get rid of any other evidence that someone had lived here.

Looking out at the waterfall makes me a bit sad. Of all of the places we have stayed in these months, this is by far the prettiest. It made this whole thing kind of feel like a vacation, not like we’re in hiding and practically running for our lives every single day. Our own little romantic oasis, hidden from the rest of the world. 

I look back at the hut as a twig snaps, turning to see Maven has finally woken up. I frown when I see he’s still completely naked. “I put clothes out for you.” He shrugs, yawns,  then walks to towards the little stream. I turn back away as he washes the rest of the dirt from his cheeks and the sleep from his eyes. I place the small handmade grill into one of the bags, then make sure to place all of the leftover vegetables and seeds carefully where they won’t get smushed.

Maven gets dressed as I smash the hut, crushing it and stomping it back into the dirt. He laughs when I stumble, falling onto my back. I wave a hand at him lazily, waiting for him to help me up before swinging the lighter of the two bags over my shoulders. Maven grabs the heavier one, grunting something about being tired, and we head away from the waterfall and back into the thick woods.

I wonder if he finished the letter. He might not understand my plan yet, but he will once I manage to get the letter to Monfort like I did with all of mine. 

I want to go home.

The only way to do that, is to make everyone there okay with Maven.

I look up at him, smiling as I hear him start to whistle absentmindedly. I know Cal, and I know my family. I know Farley, and the rest of the Scarlet Guard. I know they won’t like seeing Maven again. Not after everything he’s done. Hopefully, with a good enough letter to Cal, they can start to see that he’s changed. He’s gotten better.

Davidson has said the same thing throughout several of his own letters, that we’ll be welcomed back with no responsibilities if we choose to go home. I really want to, but I know that just because the Premier is okay with Maven, doesn’t mean everyone else will be. It’s hard to imagine what would happen if I just showed up on my family’s doorstep with him.

_ Hey, I’m actually not dead. Also this is Maven. You know, the guy who branded me and kept me a prisoner for half a year? Oh, also, I love him. _

I laugh out loud, knowing how quickly Gisa would faint.

Maven looks down at me, confused. I just shrug, leaning against his shoulder and entwining my fingers with his. “Can I read your letter?” 

The skin of his hand flushes against mine, but he reaches into his pocket anyway, fishing out the letter and holding it out for me. 

My eyes gaze over the parchment, trying to absorb every word. I smile, looking up at him. “This is really nice.”

“You think so?” He smiles, too. “I wasn’t really sure what to say to him, but I figured I should start with an apology.”

I nod, handing the note back to him and letting him put it back in his pocket. “I want to go back to Montfort.” 

I expect Maven to stop walking, or yell at me about how important it is to stay hidden. He doesn’t. “Okay.”

“Just okay?” I ask, blinking up at him. “You’re okay with that?”

He nods. “Mare, I love you. I will literally follow you anywhere you want to go.” He looks around us, sighing. “Plus, I’m tired of smelling bad all the time.”

I laugh, agreeing with him. “Ugh, I would  _ kill  _ someone to be able to take an actual bath.”

“Or sleep in an actual bed.”

We both sigh, speaking in unison. “Or eat real food.”

Maven laughs, picking up his pace a little. “So, what? We just go and talk to Davidson in person?” 

I shrug. “Hopefully, he and Cal will write back to us, and they’ll just say we can come back. Maybe we can live somewhere in Montfort in secret for a while, just the two of us, before actually telling people we’re back.” I think for a second. “Also, I don’t want to jump right back into the Scarlet Guard stuff. I know they’re fixing Norta or whatever, but I like just being with you.”

Maven grins, nodding. “And I like being with you.” He’s quiet as we keep walking, but eventually, he sighs again. “How are we going to get this to Cal, though?”

I stand on my toes to kiss his cheek before returning my head to his shoulder. “Just leave that to me.”


End file.
